Gas-tight valve lid

ABSTRACT

The lid is moved between a closed position against a flange of the casing and a substantially horizontal open position by means of a lever mounted in the casing. The lever is caused to move towards the open position by a pneumatic or hydraulic means and is caused to move towards the closed position by a spring-biased means. The lid is mounted with a clearance relative to the end of the lever to permit pivoting. Abutment rollers in the casing aid in the support of the lid in the open position.

United States Patent 1191 Deeg In] 3,817,490 [4 1 June 18, 1974 GAS-TIGHT VALVE LID Inventor: Helmut Deeg, Sulz/Attikon,

Switzerland Assignee: Sulzer Brothers Ltd., Winterthur,

Switzerland Filed: Mar. 8, 1973 Appl. No.: 339,128

Mar. 14, 1972 Switzerland ..3685/72 Int. Cl. Fl6k 31/143 Field of Search25l/14, 58,v 172, 175, 298-334,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1966 Carpentier 251/360 X McCullough 251/298 X Foreign pplication Pri -ifflj FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,026,643 3/1958 Germany 49/489 877,801 9/1961 Great Britain 251/298 Primary ExaminerHenry T. Klinksiek Attorney, Agent, or FirmKenyon & Kenyon Reilly Carr & Chapin ABSTRACT The lid is moved between a closed position against a flange of the casing and a substantially horizontal open position by means of a lever mounted in the cas- I ing. The lever is caused to move towards the open position by a pneumatic or hydraulic means and is caused to move towards the closed position by a spring-biased means. The lid is mounted with a clear- 1 ance relative to the end of the lever to permit pivoting. Abutment rollers in the casing aid in the support of the lid in the open position.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 7 Pmmmumm 331K490 SHEU 3 OF 5 Fly. 3

PATENYEMI 16 m4 90 sum 5 a? 5 GAS-TIGHT VALVE LID This invention relates to a gas tight lid, particularly for piping.

I-Ieretofore, it has been known to provide piping with various types of closure members such as gas-tight valve lids. Generally, these lids are positioned within the piping and are controlled to move between a closed position and an open position by various adjusting means. These adjusting means have usually been connected to the lid by way of multi-lever linkages and an operating shaft which is disposed outside of the piping cross-sectin. However, these linkages have frequently taken up considerable space. Moreover, these linkages have usually been relatively heavy and expensive while also being of a nature to cause an increased resistance to flow through the piping.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to replace the known linkages for the opening and closing of lids by a simpler, lighter and less expensive construction.

It is another object of the invention to provide a lid opening and closing system of simple construction for ventilation lines in a nuclear plant.

It is another object of the invention to permit rapid and secure closing of a valve lid in a pipeline.

Briefly, the invention is directed to a combination of acasing having an inwardly directed flange, a gas-tight valve lid within the casing, an adjusting means for moving the lid from a closed position adjacent the flange to an open position spaced from the flange, an adjusting means for moving the lid from the open position to the closed position, and a resilient seal positioned in sealing relation between the lid and the flange in the closed position of the lid. In accordance with the invention, the adjusting means for moving the lid to an open position includes a pivotally mounted operating shaft which passes through the casing, a one-armed lever secured to the operating shaft within the casing and means for pivotally mounting the lid about an axis at one end of the lever so that the lid is spaced from the lever with a clearance. In addition, abutment rollers or the like are mounted in the casing on opposite sides of the lever in the path of movement of the lid between the closed and open positions.

In order to determine the clearance of the lid from the lever, necessary to ensure that the lid engages tightly with the flange when in the closed position and to ensure abutment against the rollers in the open position, a resilient element is provided to press the lid against the flange or the abutment rollers in the respective lid end positions.

Where the lid is to be used as stated in a nuclear plant, the lid is actuated so as to provide a gas-tight closure of the piping to prevent any emission to atmosphere of air which may have become radioactive should the auxiliary power usually used to operate the lid fail. To this end, the lid-opening means and the lidclosing means are disposed separately from one another at different ends of the operating shaft. In addition, the adjusting means for closing the lid is springbiased towards the closed position. For example, this adjusting is provided with an elongated spring connected to the casing and by way of a cable-like pull element to a pivot arm rigidly secured to the operating shaft. The free end of the pivot arm, that is, the point at which the spring is connected to the pivot arm is selectively positioned on opposite sides of a plane passing through the axis of rotation of the pivot arm, such plane extending at least substantially parallel to the longitudi nal axis of the lid-closing spring. This latter feature allows a relatively strong pull to be exerted when the lid is in the closed position (i.e. with the spring contracted) without any need to have an oversize spring, e.g. in light of the spring force necessary for the closed lid. In order to further improve the closing force in the closed position, the point where the lid-closing spring acts on the pivot arm is disposed at least substantially vertically below the point of attachment of the spring to the casing. This improvement is based on the fact that because of a relatively long lever arm, the closing torque applied to the lid becomes considerable.

The resilient seal can be mounted in the flange of the casing and is provided with a W-shaped cross-section at one end facing the lid to ensure an good sealing action because of the two thin flexible outer lips, even though the forces applying the seal may be relatively reduced. Also, at high pressures, the less flexible central pan of the seal becomes operative.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a view of a closed valve lid according to the invention looking in an air flow direction;

FIG. 2 illustrates a view taken on line IIII of FIG.

FIG. 3 illustrates a view similar to FIG. 2 of an open lid;

FIGS. 4a and 4b respectively illustrate views of details diagrammatically showing the position of the pivot arm and the spring acting thereon, with the lid open and with the lid closed; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a detail view of the sealing element.

Referring to FIG. 1, a valve lid or flap 1 is disposed in an intermediate portion or valve casing 2 which is relatively short in the flow direction (indicated by an arrow A in FIGS. 2 and 3) and which can be introduced between two sections of piping. Advantageously, the diameter of the casing 2 is larger than the diameter of the associated pipe sections (not shown) so that the outer flanges of the pipe sections can be connected to inwardly directed annular flanges 3, 4 of the casing 2, e.g. by being tightly bolted together by way of apertures 48 distributed over the periphery of the flanges 3, 4. To enable the lid 1, whose diameter exceeds the diameter of the orifices bounded by each of the flanges 3 and 4, to be fitted and dismantled, the flange 4 is formed with diametrically opposite recesses 46.

Referring to FIG. 2, the flange 3 which is secured in casing 2, e.g. by welding, is thicker than the similarly secured flange 4 since the lid 1 is to be pressed against the flange 3 when in a closed position. A gas-tight closure is ensured by a sealing element 5. As shown in FIG. 5, wherein the seal cross-section is shown several times greater than natural size, the seal 5 is engaged in a corresponding annular groove 6 in the flange 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a means such as a bearing lug 8 is secured to the center of the lid 1 by screws 7 and extends with clearance around a shaft 9. The shaft 9 rests in a bifurcated end 10 of a one-armed lever 11 onan axis spaced from the lid 1 and is secured against lateral movements by screws 12. Several convolutions of a spring 13 extend around the shaft 9 on both sides of the lug 8 with the free ends of the spring 13 bearing on the sides of the bifurcated end or fork 10. The function of the spring 13 is to take up the clearance in the lid mounting on the shaft 9. This clearance is left deliberately for improved and more uniform engagement between the lid 1 and the flange 3 in the closed position and to locate the lid 1 in the closed position while reducing noise from the lid 1 without reliance on any medium which may be flowing in the line to force the lid 1 against the flange 3. In the open position, shown in FIG. 3, the spring 13 forces the lid 1 against two abutment rollers 14 which are disposed inside the casing 2 and which will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

The lever 11 is welded to a sleeve or collar or the like 15 which is slid on to an operating shaft 16 and secured thereto by screws (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the shaft 16 is eccentrically mounted in the casing 2 to pass into and through the casing 2. In addition, adjusting means 19, 20 for opening and closing the lid 1 are mounted on the ends of the shaft 16 via pivot arms l7, 18. In order to make the complete system gas-tight, a casing 21 is welded to the casing 2 and extends around the shaft 16. The ends of the outer casing 21 have end members 22 secured thereon by screws 23 (FIG. 2) in a conventional and known manner via shaft ring seals or oil seals 47. Also, collars 25 are secured on the shaft 16 by screws 24 to prevent lateral movement of the shaft 16 relative to the outer casing 21.

Tee abutment rollers 14 previously referred to are disposed in the casing 2 in the pivot area, which extends over approximately 45 in the views in side elevation, of the lever 11 which is operated by rotation of the shaft 16. That is, the rollers 14 are positioned in the path of movement of the lid 1 between the closed and open positions. The rollers 14 are mounted by means of washers 27 on two spindles 26 which extend through the casing 2 and are welded thereto in gas-tight fashion, location of the rollers 14 being by way of split pins 28. The main function of the rollers 14 is to ensure that when the lid 1 opens, in the case shown in FIG. 2, opening of the lid is the result of a 45 clockwise rotation of the lever 11, the lid 1 rotates, upon abutting the rollers 14, around the shaft 9. This ensures that the lid 1, as shown in FIG. 3, is disposed horizontally and parallel to the piping axis when in the open position. Because of the combination of the rollers 14, which as previously mentioned, also serve, when the lid is in its open position, as abutments for the force exerted by the spring 13, and the one-armed lever 11, the linkages used with conventional lids of this kind can be replaced, with no loss of efficiency, by the simple and relatively lightweight construction disclosed herein.

The lid-opening means 19 comprises a servo-piston which is disposed in a cylinder and which can be appropriately connected for pneumatic or hydraulic actuation to a source of pressure medium by way of supply lines (not shown). It has been found advantageous for the actuating medium to be compressed air, which can simply be exhausted to atmosphere to close the lid 1. The piston is pivotally connected via a linkage 29 to the pivot arm 17, and the cylinder 30 is suspended on a pivot pin 31 and secured by a circlip or the like 32. The pivot pin 31 is, in turn, secured, e.g. by welding, to a bracket or the like 33 welded to casing 2. The shaft 16 also has a pointer 34 at the outermost left-hand end in FIG. 1 to indicate the position of the lid 1.

The lid-closing means 20 is a spring which is borne by a second bracket or the like 35 on the opposite side of the lid casing 2. The spring 20 is suspended on a screw -threaded spindle 36 which enables the height of the suspension position 41, i.e. the point of attachment of the spring 20 to the bracket 35, and therefore the spring force, to be varied and adjusted by means of nuts 37. The lid-closing means also includes a chain 38 (FIG. 4a) which connects the spring 20 to the pivot arm 18. Alternatively, a steel band or a cable or some other pull element can be used which can adapt itself to the cam-like shape of the arm 18 on the side near the chain 38. The arm 18 is so mounted on the shaft 16 relatively to the lever 11 as to be in the position shown in FIG. 4a when the lid 1 is in the open position and to be in the end position shown in FIG. 4b when the lid is in the closed position. Consequently, when the shaft 16 rotates in the area of operation, the arm 18 passes through the lowest point of its travel, the chain 38 abutting the cam 39 when the lid is in the open position. Consequently, difierent lever arms r and s arise in the open position and in the closed position for the closing torque which the spring 20 applies to the lever 11, i.e. such torque is considerably greater for the closed position than for the open position of the lid 1.

As previously described, the arrangement of the arm 18 relative to the lever 11 and to the spring 20 increases the action of the spring 20 in the closing direction or, for a given force of the spring 20, enables the dimensions of the spring to be reduced considerably. This is because the spring elongation, which occurs only during operation and whose peak value is determined by the dimensions, shape and properties of the spring, is relatively small and corresponds just to the difference in length between the end position and the lowest point of travel of the arm 18. The lever arm s, which is increased in the closed position by this constructive feature, acts correspondingly.

If the point 40 where the chain 38 acts on the arm 18, and the point 41 where the spring 20 acts on the arm 35, are so disposed as to be vertically one below another with the lid closed, the lever arm s acquires a further even though minor increase as compared with the positioning of the two points 40, 41 shown in FIG. 4b.

The annular resilient, e.g. rubber, sealing element 5, which is secured by way of a pine cone-shape bottom part in a groove 6 in flange 3, has a base 43 which bears on the flange 3 on both sides of the groove 6 and which carries a W-shaped cross-section part. The outer lips 44 of the W-shaped portion are relatively thin and very resilient and ensure a gas-tight seal even though the pressures applying the lid 1 to the flange 3 are relatively small. A much stiffer central part 45 becomes operative, more particularly at high pressures which arise because of the pressure of the medium in the line acting in addition to the force of the spring 20. The central part 45 therefore provides an extra safeguard that the required gas-tightness is provided at high pressure.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination,

a casing having an inwardly directed annular flange;

a gas-tight valve lid within said casing;

a first adjusting means for moving said lid from a closed position adjacent said flange to an open position spaced from said flange, said adjusting means including a pivotally mounted operating shaft passing through said casing, a one-armed lever secured to said shaft within said casing, and means for pivotally mounting said lid about an axis at one end of said lever with said lid spaced from said lever;

a second adjusting means for moving said lid from said open position to said closed position;

a resilient seal positioned in sealing relation between said lid and said flange in said closed position; and

abutment rollers mounted in said casing on opposite sides of said lever in the path of movement of said lid between said closed position and said open position.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said second adjusting means includes at least one pivot arm connected to said operating shaft for movement therewith. v

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said first and second adjusting means are mounted on opposite ends of said operating shaft.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said second adjusting means includes a spring secured to said casing at one end, a cable-like pull element connected to and between an opposite end of said spring 6 and said pivot arm.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein said spring is elongated about a longitudinal axis and said pivot arm is connected to said pull element at a point selectively positioned on opposite sides of a pulse passing through the axis of rotation of said pivot arm and extending parallel to said axis of said spring with said lid in a selective one of said open and closed positions.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said point is disposed vertically below a point of attachment of said spring to said casing.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 which further comprises a resilient element mounted on said lever biasing said lid towards said flange in said closed position and onto said abutment rollers in said open position.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said resilient seal includes a W-shaped cross-section at one end facing said lid.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein said seal is annular and is mounted in said flange.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first adjusting means is pneumatically actuated to move said lid to said open position and said second adjusting means biases said lid towards said closed position. 

1. In combination, a casing having an inwardly directed annular flange; a gas-tight valve lid within said casing; a first adjusting means for moving said lid from a closed position adjacent said flange to an open position spaced from said flange, said adjusting means including a pivotally mounted operating shaft passing through said casing, a one-armed lever secured to said shaft within said casing, and means for pivotally mounting said lid about an axis at one end of said lever with said lid spaced from said lever; a second adjusting means for moving said lid from said open position to said closed position; a resilient seal positioned in sealing relation between said lid and said flange in said closed position; and abutment rollers mounted in said casing on opposite sides of said lever in the path of movement of said lid between said closed position and said open position.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said second adjusting means includes at least one pivot arm connected to said operating shaft for movement theRewith.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said first and second adjusting means are mounted on opposite ends of said operating shaft.
 4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said second adjusting means includes a spring secured to said casing at one end, a cable-like pull element connected to and between an opposite end of said spring and said pivot arm.
 5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein said spring is elongated about a longitudinal axis and said pivot arm is connected to said pull element at a point selectively positioned on opposite sides of a pulse passing through the axis of rotation of said pivot arm and extending parallel to said axis of said spring with said lid in a selective one of said open and closed positions.
 6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said point is disposed vertically below a point of attachment of said spring to said casing.
 7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 which further comprises a resilient element mounted on said lever biasing said lid towards said flange in said closed position and onto said abutment rollers in said open position.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said resilient seal includes a W-shaped cross-section at one end facing said lid.
 9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein said seal is annular and is mounted in said flange.
 10. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first adjusting means is pneumatically actuated to move said lid to said open position and said second adjusting means biases said lid towards said closed position. 